Ruling and schooling MC's that I'm dueling
Watch them all take a fall as I sit back cooling
On my throne, with a bronze microphone
Hmm, God bless the child that can hold his own
Cause I get raw
“RAW”
Brain cells are lit, ideas start to hit
Next the formation of words that fit
At the table I sit, making it legit
And when my pen hits the paper, ahh shit!
“Ain’t No Half Steppin’”
With those bars I was hooked. Since that first day back in 1988, when I first heard Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” bumpin’ out the boom box of my friend’s older brother, Kane has sat at the very top of my list of rap’s all-time greats. Later I caught his work with the Juice Crew and his status was forever cemented.
What you have to understand, and most older cats will agree with me, before Kane stepped on the scene, Rap had a very choppy formulated sound. Go throw on some old Sugar Hill Gang, Run DMC, LL. Cool J, ect… Tell me if they don’t all sound the same. For me, Kane was the architect who laid the blueprint for a lot of today’s rappers to build from. BK, (Before Kane) R&B samples were seldom used, if at all. He made it both an art and a science (of course, this was BEFORE you needed to get clearing for usage of samples.) BK, rappers weren’t using rapid-fire delivery packed with multi's and clever wordplay or spitting lines imbedded with metas and punches. Half of these cats today should probably be paying the man royalties for how much they sound like Kane haha. Seriously, he birthed many of our favorite rappers styles, both musically and image-wise. Shit, I sincerely wouldn’t be shocked if he has lately gone back to doing what got him in the door in the first place, ghostwriting…
BDK was a man of many hats and he wore each of them well. He could straight rip a mic and was feared in a battle and at the same time, he had that sex appeal that the ladies loved, only rivaled by Ladies Love Cool James. Perhaps at one point the Smooth Suave New Jack Swinging Player Mack Vampire overshadowed the Braggadocios Ferocious Wordsmith with the Immaculate Delivery Full of Worldly Intellect and Social Understanding with the Gift of Gab, but realize that this was all part of the man’s master plan. I keep hearing cats say Kane lost his fire when he “crossed-over.” Well, if crossing over is releasing a ballad on your FIRST cd, then I guess he did. Anyone that listens can see that Kane had a vision and he wanted to touch as many people in as many ways as he could. All of his references to movie stars, entertainers, pop culture, ect showed that he wanted to become one with them. Ok, I’ll give you this, a couple of his cds weren’t up to the standards of his first 3-4, but a successful first cd is often the measuring stick that proves to be the kiss of death for any artist.
Anyway, I can’t do the man’s music justice with my words, so I’m just gonna throw up his first three albums… I have all of them and then some, so if reactions are favorable, I’ll put them up next along with some other Juice Crew classics.
Long Live the Kane
It’s a Big Daddy Thing
A Taste of Chocolate
Password is Coolhand
Next up is Juice Crew alum, Masta Ace’s “A Long Hot Summer”.
Aight, I’m gonna cut right to the chase, since I just rewrote “War and Peace” with my review of Kane. This may be the BEST concept cd you’ve NEVER heard. Tight all the way around and if you’re the kind who likes stories, this is for you.
Tight Lyrics- check
Tight Delivery- check
Tight Production- check
Bumpability- check
For real, hearing is believing…. Straight up, this cat spits fire and is one of the most underrated out there.
Masta Ace- A Long Hot Summer
Enjoy
Peace B un2 U All,
CoolHand Luke
Stray Shots
Biz Markie - Goin Off
Biz Markie - Biz Never Sleeps
Kool G. Rap and D.J. Polo - Live And Let Die
J-Love Presents Kool G. Rap - A Legend
Kool Keith Presents The Undatakerz
Richie Rich - Seasoned Veteran
Rakim - The 18th Letter
Rakim - The Master
Earth_Wind_And_Fire-Illumination-2005
Password is south
